I have a problem. This is my kitty's first Christmas and we're trying to put up the tree, but she just won't leave it alone. We can't get her to stay away from the tree no matter what we do. I don't want to "not" have a tree, but is there anything we can do? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
I do like this picture, I'm glad I was able to capture it.
Stacey from Orem, UT
Here is my solution. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.
Depending how big your tree is we put ours in a playpen and that solved everything. It is only an idea, otherwise spray water at her everytime she goes near the tree. (11/27/2005)
By connie
I've used the playpen for the tree, but to keep the children from getting to it. It might work for a small kitten, but one that big, she'd probably just climb over it. I have a bunch of cats and use unbreakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree because they inevitably play with them. That saves a lot of broken ornaments. With yours on the table, she might knock it over if she tries to climb it.
One thing you could try is to cover your table with foil down to the ground. Cats hate foil and it might keep her down.
It's a problem, but she sure is cute.
Susan from ThriftyFun (11/27/2005)
You might try spraying Bitter Apple (you can buy it at pet stores) around the bottom. (11/27/2005)
By Donna
Does your cat not like when you just put perfume on?
I use perfume on wires that my Pudd likes to chew, the smell stops her before she even tastes it. (11/27/2005)
By Novice333
Some cats hate the smell of hot peppers (like hot sauce or cayenne pepper powder) or try mint (peppermint oil or toothpaste). Luckily, our cat just wants to lay under the tree. I wish we could keep it up year round just for her. (11/27/2005)
By samaree
To keep the tree from falling over, my DH cut a 4' plywood circle which I place the tree skirt overtop of. The tree stand base has spots for a nail to be screwed in at the end of each stand "arm". This way, if you cannot be there to keep her out of the tree, at least you can keep the tree from falling over.
My DH made the circle when we had a kitten and the real tree had a stand filled with water. We placed the tree in the living room that had a new carpet. The tree did not tip over and the carpet did not get wet. The bottom ornaments did get batted around and did not always remain by the tree, but the tree stayed put. (11/28/2005)
I have the same problem with my new kitty and I guess I understand, first Christmas and all. My hubby used orange peels in a flower pot she wouldn't stay out of, so we used some at the base of the tree to. So far everything is going well. (11/28/2005)
By erica
My mom uses Bounce dryer sheets around the base of the tree. Dryer Sheets keep dogs, cats, and mice away from anything. They don't like the smell. You should try that. Hope it helps. (11/28/2005)
By kvd2241
The perfuming of the tree worked for my cat. He sneezed at first, but it has been 3 days and I haven't seen him get into in since. Thank you. (12/14/2005)
By Barbara
I was having the same problem, it is the 14th of December and I have yet to decorate my tree due to the kitten. I went to Petsmart and purchased, Boundary Indoor/outdoor cat repellent by Lambert Kay. It works wonders. (12/15/2005)
By Katie
We have 3 very cool cats, Kurtis, Hemingway, and Harley. We love them very much, but after we put up a very beautiful Christmas tree this year, we were having the same problem. Hemingway, with Kurtis egging him on dove into the tree more than once, broke the stand, knocked off several of the branches and really almost destroyed the tree. (fake tree)
I thought about this, searched on the internet, ended up here, and I didn't really see anything that I wanted to try. I was in the shower and it hit me. We have all this home automation stuff (x10.com) so what I did was put the vacuum behind the tree, plugged it into a module and set up the macro on the PC and downloaded it to the interface. Now, when one of them gets within 3 feet of the tree motion trips, fires up the vacuum and the cats go motoring down the hallway. It stays on for 5 seconds and then shuts off. It took a couple days for our kitties to adjust, but now they won't give the tree the time of day. We can now enjoy our tree and have no worries about them tearing it up again. Just thought we would share our remedy on here.
By Jason
I don't think that crushed mothballs are a very safe idea for cats. They have a very sensitive nervous system and this could be harmful to them. Not to mention, that I don't like the smell of mothballs either. (12/07/2006)
By Paula
Well, this is one idea you can try. Last year I had 4 cats, one had never seen a Christmas tree before and would not stay out of it. She was climbing the tree and batting the balls all over the place. Finally, I had to try something. I went to drugstore and bought a jar of Vicks salve and a bag of cotton balls. All you do is dip the cotton balls in the Vicks salve and hang it from a Christmas tree hanger from the lower limbs of your tree, in a hidden spot of course, that worked for my cat. She would go by the tree look at and wince her eyes and walk away. It was actually too funny. The tree is up this year without the cotton balls and she hasn't even looked at it. Good luck, hope it works for you. You do have go back and redip the cotton balls again. (11/29/2007)
By Paula
We have 3 cats, 8-year-olds Gizmo and Kuddles and 3-month-old Mittens. My older kitties just want to sleep under the (fake) tree, but my kitten insists on climbing and chewing the tree, lights, and bulbs.
I like everyone's ideas of putting something on or around the trees that smells bad to them, but I didn't want to spray the tree itself or coat the wires with soap. So cut a hole in a small paper plate and coated the inside edge with Icy Hot (Vicks wasn't strong enough), then wrapped the paper plate around the post of the tree just above the lowest row of branches. We have to coat the paper plate every so often after the smell dies, but so far Mittens stays away from the tree.
The downfall is now my older cats miss out on sleeping under the tree because they hate the smell as well and my husband and I have to deal with Icy Hot smell also. Maybe I'll try aromatherapy oils or spray on the paper plate. At least my husband and I won't mind the smell. (12/01/2007)
By Jennie
I did a search for how to keep my 5 month old kitten away from the tree and I ended up here. The citrus perfume idea is genius. I sprayed it on the tree skirt and the bottom half of the tree including the ornaments and he hates it. He ran once really quickly under the tree, but kept running out the other side. He'll sit a few feet away with eyes squinted sniffing the tree, but he won't go near it. I'm so happy. I've got a killer headache from the perfume, but it's so worth it. I don't have to redecorate my tree every 30 seconds now. Thank you. (12/02/2007)
By Catt
To the people who are using Vicks as a cat repellent, DON'T. Vicks Vapo Rub and other similar products such as Tiger Balm, etc. are not safe for use on or around cats. Much like essential oils they contain components that are toxic to cats. Menthol contains a toxin to cats and Eucalyptus contain phenols. Some cats have a violent reaction to Vicks and begin to foam at the mouth after contact. I have seen people on the internet suggest using these products as "cat deterrent" rubs around the home. Not only is this dangerous advice, it is foolish as the smell of menthol actually attracts some cats, regardless of it's dangers.
(01/27/2008)
By Cat Lover
I used black pepper around the tree on the rug and it works. (11/14/2008)
By stretchy
I was having the same problem as you all. My cat was in heaven when we put up our Christmas tree. She would climb the branches, knock the ornaments off and chew the branches. Once my hubby found the Christmas tree knocked over. I like most of you was getting really frustrated and angry. Then I realized the other day, they are our pets, it's what they were born to do, climb, play, and have fun. It's what makes them so adorable to us.
However because I knew my Christmas tree was is serious danger of survival, I came up with a plan after reading this site. I went to the dollar store and purchased cranberry room spray. I took all the decorations off my tree. Re-set the branches and sprayed the tree all along middle of the tree, the base, and the bottom branches. I then took my pine cones, put them in a small bin and sprinkled on cloves and cinnamon. I let my cat have a sniff and thank goodness, she didn't like it. She made a face and ran for it. I knew then I had success.
I however took it one step further. I knew my cat loved to play with the tree so I had decided to give her a tree of her own. I purchased from the dollar store plenty of toy mice (2 for $1.00) and gave her her own kitty cat Christmas tree. She will still from time to time bite the branches of her tree and bat at the mice and even thought it's only day 2, my tree is still untouched and standing in one piece. (12/05/2008)
By Sherry
Here is Lloyd's kitty cat Christmas tree.
She loves it.
(12/05/2008)
By Sherry
There are sprays that are made especially for cats. We use "No Scratch" by Pet Organics. We normally spray it lightly on the couches, but it will deter the cats wherever it is sprayed. We just sprayed this all over the (fake) tree and surrounding area. Hope it works. (12/07/2008)
By Amber
Just had an idea. Maybe wrap large boxes and then cover completely with sticky tape. (12/09/2008)
By Amy
Here is a picture of my third and final attempt at keeping our cats (5) from destroying my wife's collection of mostly ceramic Peanuts Gang ornaments. This slightly serious solution is working like a charm so far except now "Peanut" seems to be depressed even though we provided her, along with her mama and siblings, with their own tree in another room. Go figure. The enclosure consists of six door screens joined with 2 way hinges. (12/21/2008)
When I used to have cats I would put orange peels underneath the tree apron. Cats hate citrus smells and it made them stay away. Replace with new ones every week when the old ones dry out. I put them in my plant pots, too. If you don't often have orange peels, throw them in a baggy and put them in the freezer when you do, so you can use them later. It works very well and makes the house smell good too and its not harmful. (01/19/2009)
By Melissa M.
Vinegar! We adopted a little girl kitten named Dexter over the summer and as it is getting closer to Christmas I knew the tree was going to be a challenge. So we put up the tree over the weekend and sure enough she was incapable of leaving it alone. So I remembered a garden trick someone told me was to spray vinegar on your garden to keep stray cats out. It worked so I thought why not the tree.
I sprayed the tree skirt and the bottom of the tree with vinegar and she refuses to get anywhere near the tree now. The good thing about vinegar is the smell goes away after an hour or so, but the cat can still smell it for weeks after. It's actually kind of funny because now she sits about a foot away from the tree skirt looking at the tree. Hope this helps. (11/29/2009)
By Carissa
I have a 9 month old kitty. He has no interest in climbing the tree, but loves the ornaments and using them as toys. I called the vet and they suggested Irish Spring soap, I have put a few bars underneath my tree skirt and it seems to have worked. This along with not decorating the bottom of the tree has seemed to disinterest him. Good luck. (11/30/2009)
By cat lover
I was also having problems with my cats staying out of my tree. I read this site and tried the vinegar and water spray and so far it has worked like a charm. (12/04/2009)
By Toni
Yesterday I found this site, and tried the lemon idea. Yesterday I cut up some lemon and lime peels and put them under the tree skirt and made little angels. I wrapped the peels in netting using the lemon and lime peels for their head and placed them around on the branches on the bottom on the tree. And I put one a little high because they could get on the tree there by way of the window sill. It has been working just fine. I'm not giving up on having a Xmas tree, yet. By the way I have 2 kittens that are 9 months old Floyd and Baffle. Well, Floyd is not to happy with me at this time because I took his new toy away. He even let me know by meowing very loud at me. I love my cats. (12/11/2009)
By naomi
Our 10 week old kitten would not stay out of our Christmas tree. She liked to climb halfway up and lay in it. She does not like the Flaming Hot Cheetos, so we decided to put some on hooks and hang them from the bottom branches of the tree. Walla. It worked. She no longer gets under the tree or tries to climb it. I never thought Cheetos could have another use. (12/14/2009)
By Grnppyeyes
I went to Bath and Body Works today to get some of the grapefruit spray everyone is talking about on this post. Unfortunately, I discovered it is discontinued. However, White Citrus is available. I bought it hoping it would work. My cat sniffed all the way around the tree, looked at me like I ruined the best toy ever, and walked away.
For the first time in four years our tree may be safe. (12/20/2009)
By keiffer
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